Tech Data To Carry Sepaton's Virtual Tape Libraries

The Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor will sell the products through its Advanced Infrastructure Solutions [AIS] division, becoming the first distributor to carry Sepaton.

Tech Data announced the pact at its TechSelect conference this week in Salt Lake City. Solution providers can present their customers with virtual tape solutions to replace tape storage, said Pete Peterson, senior vice president and general manager of Tech Data's AIS group.

"We think [the solution] has an opportunity to provide value in the SMB community," Peterson said.

Through AIS, Tech Data will distribute Sepaton's S2100-DS2 series, targeting SMB and small-enterprise applications. The S2100-DS2 series stores information faster than traditional tape devices and also cuts data restoration and retrieval times during business continuity and disaster recovery situations, according to Tech Data. Sepaton also has applications for enhanced data protection, compression and replication.

Sepaton chose Tech Data as a means to boost revenue through the channel, said Michael Sutkowski, vice president of business development at Sepaton.

"It really was 'the perfect storm.' Pete's new program focused on AIS was intended to go upmarket. We intended to go down market. We needed a partner to do that," he said.

At the TechSelect conference, Tech Data held its first Infrastructure Management Solutions track to attract solution providers to the more complex solutions offered through the AIS division.

Sepaton sells directly to about 35 VARs to target the Fortune 1000 market now, Sepaton said. He wouldn't say how many Tech Data customers he hopes to add, but he said solution providers must be willing to make an investment, along with Sepaton and Tech Data, because of the complexity of the solutions.

"We want a few good partners that will be determined by their skill set and willingness to train," he said.